Lynn Pinckney 1955-

1985 ASUO President

When Lynn Pinckney received 55% of the votes cast in the spring 1985 election for President of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, she made history—becoming the first openly gay person to be elected president of a collegiate student body in the United States.  

As a past co-director of the campus Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GALA), Pinckney had been counting on the support of the queer community, but she also feared that at-large voters might discriminate against her on the basis of her sexual orientation. Instead, she won the four-candidate race in a landslide. So newsworthy was her election that the story was picked up by wire services and reported in several cities across the country.  

“It will be an active administration and it will be open to the public,” she promised.  

During her tenure in office, Pinckney lead efforts to diversify the student population, to improve safety on campus for women, and to increase accessibility for people with physical disabilities. In addition, she advocated for freezing tuition and disassociating UO funds from the Apartheid regime in South Africa.  

At the end of her term, she was considered by many administrators to be one of the most accomplished ASUO presidents in recent memory. 

Dean of Students Shirley Wilson reflected: “There was nothing ambiguous about Lynn. She was willing to negotiate but wouldn’t compromise her principles.”